Commonly applied vocational concepts are summarized in this subchapter.

Commonly used terms for medical-vocational evaluations are defined in this subchapter.

Terms relating to jobs or occupations have the same definition that the Department of Labor uses in its publications, such as the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) or the Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (SCO).

Words with a two-letter acronym after them are rated in the SCO using that acronym.

Consider additional vocational adversities when deciding to use a claimant’s chronological age in a borderline age issue. Additional vocational adversities can be in a claimant’s residual functional capacity (RFC), education, or work experience. See DI 25015.005 for the borderline age issue definition. See DI 25015.006 for details on borderline age.

RFC: In borderline age issues, the adjudicator considers if limitations and restrictions in the RFC that affect, but do not substantially erode, a claimant’s remaining occupational base are additional vocational adversities.

EXAMPLE: A claimant aged 49 years and 10 months who cannot do past relevant work (PRW) with a sedentary RFC, 12th grade education, and unskilled work will meet medical-vocational rule 201.12 at attainment of age 50. The claimant has reduced hearing ability. Because this limitation affects, but does not substantially erode, the sedentary occupational base, the adjudicator should consider whether it might be an additional vocational adversity.

Education: When using a medical-vocational rule that expresses education as a continuum, the adjudicator may consider facts falling at the lower end of the continuum to be an additional vocational adversity.

EXAMPLE: An individual who is 54 years, 9 months of age with a light RFC, unskilled medium work experience and a 5th grade education will meet medical-vocational rule 202.01 at attainment of age 55. The rule requires limited or less education (11th grade or less). The adjudicator should consider whether education may be an additional vocational adversity if the individual has an education at the lower end of the rule continuum.

Illiteracy or inability to communicate in English is defined as the inability to read or write a simple message such as instructions or inventory lists. As such, illiteracy or inability to communicate in English can only be considered to be an additional vocational adversity when using a special medical-vocational profile, or if an individual is a few days to a few months of attaining advanced age, has a medium RFC and no past relevant work, or is a few days to a few months of “closely approaching retirement age,” has a medium RFC, cannot do past work, and has unskilled or no work experience (medical-vocational rules 203.10, 203.02, 203.01). In all other instances, illiteracy or inability to communicate in English will already be material to the allowance and cannot be used again as an additional adversity.

EXAMPLE: A claimant aged 44 years, 10 months with a sedentary RFC, unskilled medium work experience, who is illiterate or unable to communicate in English would meet medical-vocational rule 201.17 at attainment of age 45. Because the claimant must be illiterate or unable to communicate in English to meet this rule, the adjudicator could only consider whether the claimant had additional RFC or work experience-related adversities.

Work experience: Because no past relevant work is more adverse than other work experience categories, the adjudicator considers whether no past relevant work might be an additional vocational adversity except when using a rule that an individual can meet only by having no past relevant work experience.

EXAMPLE: Medical-vocational rule 203.02 requires no past relevant work, so “no past relevant work” could not be considered an additional adversity when using this rule.

Medical-vocational rule 203.01 requires unskilled or no past relevant work experience. No past relevant work could be considered an additional adversity when using this rule because it is a more adverse vocational factor than unskilled past relevant work.

Isolated industry: The adjudicator should consider whether work in an isolated industry might be an additional vocational adversity.

EXAMPLE: A claimant aged 54 years 11 months with a 10th grade education, a light RFC and past medium skilled work with no transferable skills meets medical-vocational 202.02 at attainment of age 55. If the claimant’s past relevant work was as a salmon fisherman, this could be considered a job in an isolated industry. Such work experience could be an additional adversity that could be considered in a borderline age issue.

Refers to chronological age and the extent to which it affects a claimant’s ability to adjust to other work. See DI 25015.005 for additional information on age as a vocational factor.

A claimant reaches a particular age the day before his or her birthday. (GN 00302.400).

There are three age categories and two age subcategories.

The medical-vocational rules use the subcategory “younger individual age 45-49” in the sedentary medical-vocational table and “closely approaching retirement age” in the medium medical-vocational table.

Formal schooling or other training that contributes to a claimant’s ability to meet vocational requirements (e.g., reasoning ability, communication skills, and arithmetical ability). See DI 25015.010 for additional information on education as a vocational factor.

Ability to communicate in English.

For adjudicative purposes, education is classified into five categories:

Illiterate or Unable to Communicate in English

The inability to read English, or

The inability to write English, or

The inability to speak or understand English, or

Any combination of the above.

Regardless of formal education level, this category should be applied to claimants who cannot speak, understand, read, or write a simple message in English such as instructions or inventory lists.

Marginal Education

Formal schooling completed at a level of 6th grade or less.

Limited Education

Formal schooling completed at a level of 7th through 11th grade.

High School Education or Above

Formal schooling completed at a level of 12th grade and above. Generally, a GED certificate is considered in this category.

Recent Education that Provides for Direct Entry into Skilled Work

Recent education that allows a claimant to do a particular semi-skilled or skilled job.

EXAMPLE: A waitress at one restaurant may take orders and check to make sure everything is satisfactory. An assistant carries the food to the table. A waitress at another restaurant may be required to take the order and carry the food to the table.

Usually requires walking or standing for approximately 6 hours of the day.

Many unskilled light jobs are performed primarily in one location, with the ability to stand being more critical than the ability to walk.

Even though the weight lifted may be only a negligible amount, an occupation is rated as light when it requires walking or standing to a significant degree, sitting most of the time while pushing or pulling arm or leg controls, or working at a production rate pace while constantly pushing or pulling materials even though the weight of the materials is negligible.

Usually requires only occasional, rather than frequent stooping and no crouching.

Usually involves grasping, holding and turning objects, but does not require use of the fingers for fine activities to the extent required in much sedentary work.

Title II CDB – Initial claim filed after age 22, no relevant work after age 22

Within the 15 years before age 22

Title II CDB – Reentitlement Claim, 7 year period applies and ended in the past

Within the 15 years before the end of the reentitlement period

Title II CDB – Reentitlement Claim, 7 year period applies and has not yet ended, or 7 year period does not apply

Within the 15 years before adjudication*

Title XVI Adult

Within the 15 years before adjudication*

Title II or Title XVI Continuing Disability Review (CDR)

Within the 15 years before CDR adjudication**

Appeal of Title II or Title XVI CDR medical cessation

Within the 15 years prior to the initial CDR medical cessation determination**

Any type of claim – closed period of disability ***

Within the 15 years before the end of the closed period

* Indicates the date we adjudicate the claim at the initial, reconsideration, administrative law judge levels or for Appeals Council decisions. (See 20 CFR 404.1565 and 416.965 ) The date of adjudication is not frozen at the initial determination but is the date of determination or decision at any level of review.

** DI 28005.015A.7. provides that in CDR cases we will not count work performed during the current period of disability as PRW or as work experience. However, SGA done during a current period of disability may change an individual’s vocational outlook for the purposes of applying collateral estoppel to a new claim. See EM-01204 and DI 27515.001 for additional information on potential adoption cases involving work activity.

*** A closed period of disability is one in which the claimant was unable to engage in substantial gainful activity for a continuous period of at least 12 months, but by the time the determination or decision is made, improvement has occurred and the claimant is no longer disabled.

An individual may acquire SVP in a school, military, institutional or vocational environment through such settings as:

Vocational training,

Apprenticeship training,

In plant training,

On-the-job training,

Essential experience in other jobs.

A 4-year college degree is equal to 2 years of SVP. Each year of graduate school is equal to 1 year of SVP.

If an individual has past work with a high SVP level, it may be appropriate to consider the length of the work, as well as the claimant’s education when determining if work was done long enough to be relevant.

EXAMPLE: An RN has an SVP of 7 which would mean that this job is generally learned in about 2-4 years. If the nurse has a 4 year college degree, which counts for 2 years of SVP, and 2 years of nursing experience, the adjudicator would determine that the claimant did the job long enough to learn it unless there was evidence to the contrary.

This factor is defined by one of five levels: Sedentary, Light, Medium, Heavy, and Very Heavy. Most jobs require workers to expend energy to some extent. The amount can be affected by the worker’s body position and the frequency of the repetition of the task.

A worker in an awkward crouching position may experience as much difficulty exerting five pounds of force as when exerting thirty pounds at waist height while standing.

A worker who continuously lifts, pushes or pulls 15-pound objects or carries them over long distances may exert as much physical effort as when lifting, pushing, pulling or carrying 30-pound objects over short distances on a frequent basis.

The performance of significant physical or mental activities in work for pay or profit or in work of a type generally performed for pay or profit. Work may be substantial even if it is performed on a seasonal or part-time basis, or even if the individual does less, is paid less, or has less responsibility than in previous work.

Although the Field Office has jurisdiction to determine if work since onset is SGA, the adjudicator must determine whether past work was at SGA level in order to determine if it was relevant.

If the claimant has not worked for a full year at a job, it is not appropriate to apply the yearly SGA limit to his or her earnings.

See DI 10501.015 for SGA for blind employees. See the table below for countable earnings for nonblind employees.

Monthly SGA CHART for Nonblind Employees – “Countable earnings” of employees indicate SGA if the amount averages more per month than indicated below.

Applying work skills that a claimant has demonstrated in past relevant skilled or semi-skilled work to meet the requirements of other skilled or semi-skilled work. See DI 25015.015 for a detailed discussion.

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